


Mendeleyevsk

by Cym



Category: Alex Rider - Anthony Horowitz
Genre: Estrov, Gen, Russian Roulette, Yassen Gregorovich is emotionally crippled, blast from the past
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-16 05:28:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28576752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cym/pseuds/Cym
Summary: Yassen Gregorovich's first mission as something more than an assassin was also a test of his loyalty.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 27





	Mendeleyevsk

**Author's Note:**

> Yassen Gregorovich, Zeljan Kurst, Julian Rothman, Scorpia, were all created by Anthony Horowitz. So were Misha Dementyev and Eva.
> 
> English is not my native language, and I don't have a beta: sorry about the mistakes! Don't hesitate to share the ones you see so that they can be corrected...

Yassen Gregorovich was used to working alone. His speciality, after all, was assassination; and what made him so invaluable to Scorpia was how invisible he could be. His solo assignments had always been successful, completed cleanly and efficiently. He had gained a reputation as a man who didn't make mistakes. However, he wasn't surprised in any way when Scorpia decided to partner him with a mercenary team for his next mission.

Technically, kidnapping and bombing weren't his area of expertise. Yet, the scientific compound targeted in this particular instance definitely deserved an assassin's touch. Too many exits to be covered without attracting unnecessary attention and risking the target's escape. Too many guards to hope for a clean retrieval of the scientist and make sure he would survive a full scale assault unharmed. The compound would have to be infiltrated before any definitive plans could be made. It was the perfect assignment for Scorpia to verify that Yassen could be something more than an assassin.

Yassen being put in charge of this particular mission by Zeljan Kurst truly made perfect sense, even if he would act as an assault planner and coordinator for the first time. 

“Your target is Professor Misha Dementyev,” Kurt explained coolly. “A biology professor. He has been involved with a biochemical discovery of interest in the eighties and nineties, and we have reasons to believe that he is currently pursuing similar endeavours. We want him alive.” Kurst marked a pause as to impress the importance of his target's survival to Yassen. “Impaired is tolerated, head injury isn't. We will need his research, as well as any samples he may have produced.”

Kurst handed Yassen a thick folder, with a picture of a man in a lab coat at the front. Thick, grey hair emphasising a large shiny bald patch in the middle of his head. A darker beard and moustache and small, beady eyes behind a pair of thick glasses. Yassen's face remained impassible.

“Once you have retrieved any relevant documents and vials, the rest of it is to be destroyed,” Kurst continued. “We want the monopoly on what Dementyev is developing. The file contains the intel we currently have.”

Yassen took the time to flip through a few pages: plans of a factory in Russia, diagrams, a list of names. “Do we have an inside man?” 

Kurst grimaced. “We did, hence the information we have on the research. It is not relevant to the mission.” Indeed, it was distinctly missing from the file.

Yassen nodded, hearing what was left unsaid. They'd had a man before, but not anymore. If captured, Yassen didn't need to know what the weapon was about.

Because it was a weapon, Yassen had no doubt about it. He wondered briefly if destiny was messing with him again, before he realised that it was more likely Julia Rothman who was. This couldn't be a coincidence. His face was still carefully blank.

“What resources do I have access to?” Yassen asked.

“Whatever you need.” Kurst was staring intensely at Yassen, as if trying to read him. Yes, Rothman was definitely involved with this. “Read the file, start planning. I recommend taking Bravo team with you, they are used to this type of operations. We want Dementyev and his research secure before the end of the month. Report before you depart.”

Yassen gave a nod to Kurst as he left the room. He wondered if Kurst and the rest of the board knew exactly what Rothman was playing at, as a way to test him, or if Kurst merely suspected her little game. 

No matter. He didn't have time to dwell on that. Yassen had a mission to plan.

The scientific compound where Dementyev worked was located in Mendeleyevsk in the Republic of Tatarstan, in a building that was supposedly a fertiliser factory. It was bordered by the river Toyma on one side, and heavily guarded on the others. Scorpia hadn't managed to bribe anyone of interest on the inside, so the best chance of recovering both Dementyev and his research would be a full assault on the factory. Yassen, assisted by Bravo team's leader Venom, had calculated the necessary resources accordingly. Bravo team was composed of five mercenaries other than their leader, tough, military-trained men, and every one of them had enough knowledge in explosives to utterly destroy the factory without blowing up the whole town. 

Yassen took the time to assess Bravo Team's individual strengths and weaknesses before they left for Russia. He put Whistler in charge of the retrieval of any existing samples, while Tricks would handle the computer part of it. It was time to leave, and to start his personal reconnaissance of the site. 

It was easy enough to convince two of the usual maintenance staff to stay at home for the following week, and thus ensure a way in for Yassen: he arranged a comfortable bribe in one case, and the man even gave him a letter of recommendation. The second one had an unfortunate deadly accident. Yassen didn't want to risk the management deciding the maintenance team could operate with only one missing member, as it was important that he gained access shortly. 

He gave the man he had bribed a couple of days to enjoy his money, to make sure no one at the factory would notice anything questionable; and then he disposed of him, too. He couldn't afford to let anyone potentially capable of identifying him alive.

Yassen used his maintenance uniform and his ability to make himself underrated to explore every part of the premises. After four days of cleaning floors and scrubbing toilets, he had a definite location on Dementyev's office and labs, and a thorough knowledge of the inner layout and escape routes. Meanwhile, Bravo team had gauged the perimeter's security measures, as well as the guards' numbers and equipment. They were ready for the assault.

The best moment to attack would be in the evening, before the guards night shift took over. Dementyev was used to working late, and by that time, not only was most of the staff gone, but Yassen, supposedly working maintenance, would also be expected to be present. He would get rid of the electronic surveillance and of as many of the guards as he could without raising an alert before Bravo team would join in the assault.

The main risk Yassen had identified was an emergency issue in Dementyev's personal lab, which led to hidden corridors before exiting by the river. He and Venom had considered leaving a man on the outside exit, before deciding that they couldn't afford to waste their resources; for all they knew, Dementyev would be in another part of the building when the assault occurred. In the end, Yassen had simply sabotaged the locks: the door was heavy enough that it would at the very least slow down the target enough that the Scorpia men would have the right amount of time to catch up with him.

On the evening of the assault, Yassen swiftly broke the neck of the maintenance worker he had been partnered with, hid the body, and walked to the security room. Another silent broken neck and a quick knife to the throat got rid of the two guards managing the cameras, then he turned on his earpiece.

“Cossack to Bravo team. I'm in.”

“Copy that,” answered Venom. “We're waiting for your signal.”

Yassen disabled the security on the two entrances he and the mercenaries were planning to use, checked that the three others were locked so no one who could identify him would escape, and took a look at the cameras.

“Doors open. Target in the back lab. Shoot to kill until the back corridor.”

“Bravo team, we're coming in.”

Discretion was no longer necessary, time was of the essence, now: Yassen had chosen to leave the communication lines intact instead of risking alerting the guards of an imminent attack. Fortunately, Bravo team was highly efficient.

It took less than four minutes for the men to join him, shooting everyone on sight, and Yassen used that time to dispose of the surveillance videos of the past week: though he had avoided showing his face to the cameras, he had no intention of leaving any potentially incriminating footage if the planned explosions didn't reach the recording equipment. As soon as he was reunited with the team, Yassen went on the move, graceful and deadly. No words were needed, every mercenary knew his part: Whistler and Tricks were heading to the cold chamber and the computer room with a back-up man each, while Yassen would handle Dementeyev with the help of Venom and their last man, Rogue.

They had got rid of ten of the twelve guards on site and gunshots were getting scarce as they reached the long corridor where the lab was located. Rogue proceeded to enter room after room to eliminate any stragglers, while Yassen walked straight to the door at the end, and kicked it in. Venom stayed behind to watch the corridor as Yassen entered the room.

As he had observed on the cameras, Dementyev wasn't alone. Yassen rose his gun to the woman cowering in a corner, but he stopped himself before he could shoot her. He couldn't know if this was Rothman's plan all along, but...

He knew that woman.

He made a split-second decision to pretend she wasn't there. He couldn't afford to dwell on her presence now, and he knew he didn't want to kill her. 

This was definitely a test of loyalty. Yassen chose to speak English, in case Venom was listening. Besides, it would make him harder to identify.

“Greetings, Professor. This would be easier if you'd follow willingly, but we can do this the hard way if you so prefer.” Yassen had recovered from his surprise, and his voice sounded cold and steady. He used his gun to signal for the man to stand up and walk before him. 

Dementyev rose, slowly. “I know you,” he started in a trembling voice.

Yassen had planned for that. He indicated the maintenance overalls he was still wearing with a bored look on his face. “You've seen me before, yes.”

He had, but not since Yassen had entered the factory, Yassen had made sure of it. After all, on the first time the two had met, when Yassen had been fourteen years old and his first name had been Yasha, Dementyev had recognised him on sight. He had claimed it was because the boy looked a lot like his mother.

Yassen stopped himself before he could take another look at the woman in the corner. He'd known what the price for failing Scorpia was before he even joined them, and he wasn't willing to die now. If he looked at her face, he may be unable to do what needed to be done.

Dementyev, however, didn't seem to care much for that. “You, you are...”

Yassen shot without looking in the corner where the woman was hiding to cut him off. She screamed. “Move. Now.” Dementyev started walking out like an automaton, a horrified look on his face, and Yassen quickly handed him over to Venom. “Take him. Give me the bomb. I'll be out shortly.” 

Yassen took the explosives from Venom and made a show of starting to collect the papers lying on the lab's metal surfaces. As soon as Venom and Dementyev were out of audible range, he started speaking. 

“Stay hidden for five minutes, no more, no less. Do you have a watch?”

No answer. He would have to look at the woman. He didn't want to. He didn't see any other way.

Yassen looked up and stared straight at Eva, keeping his face carefully blank. “I asked, do you have a watch?”

She looked shocked, and as horrified as Dementyev had. “Who... What... ?”

Yassen could feel his lips attempt to rise in a grimace. He didn't have the time for that. He couldn't comprehend how she was alive, or what she was doing in that place, but he knew both of them would die if he didn't keep his cool. He took a quick look around the lab, found a timer that he programmed and dropped straight into her hands, and put the silencer on his gun. He shot the locks on the door he had sabotaged earlier in the week, and pulled it open slightly.

Then, he took a short breath, turned around to face her, and shot straight through her shoulder. 

She screamed again. He took off the silencer and put it away, then he grabbed a lab coat and rolled it into a ball before he started pressing on the wound. Dementyev hadn't tried to see where the first bullet had landed, but he would surely share that she had been with them in the lab. Yassen needed her blood on his hands and clothes. Scorpia would check. He decided to be thorough, removed the lab coat shortly, and wiped his knife against her bloody clothes before applying pressure again. He was closer to her than he had ever planned to be. He spoke in Russian this time.

“Stay quiet. Keep pressing. When the timer rings, get out through the back corridors. Earlier than that, and you are dead. Later than that, and you are dead. Do you understand ?”

She stared at him, gasping, her eyes bright with tears. “Yasha...?”

“No.” He jumped away from her without thinking about it. He didn't have the time for that. He threw the coat back into her hands. “Keep pressing. Don't waste time once the timer rings. Once you are out, lie low, and play dead. Don't risk anybody looking for what you know next.” 

“Who, why are you doing this? Who are these people? Misha is a friend!” There was pain and anguish in her voice. He really, really didn't have time for that. He should have been outside a long time ago. Maybe keeping her alive was too much of a risk.

Yassen wiped the blood off his hands on his overalls, collected the papers he had gathered earlier, and armed the explosives. He put the bomb on a desk, within her sight. She had to understand how serious it was. Yassen forced himself to meet her eyes for a second time.

“That man is not your friend.” As a teenager, Yassen had often wondered if the phone call Dementyev had placed as soon as the two had met had been to Sharkovsky. He couldn't know, but he figured that whether it was true or not, it was still something he could work with. “Misha Dementyev sold me to Vladimir Sharkovsky as soon as I met him in Moscow. Sharkovsky made me what I am now.” He marked a pause. “The people I work for will kill me if they find out I left a witness alive. They won't make it quick.”

He saw the comprehension reach her eyes through the pain. And then he saw more pain. She wasn't trying to talk anymore. He knew she wouldn't tell anybody about him.

He almost wanted to say goodbye – he hadn't had the strength to do so as a boy in Estrov. Instead, he gave her a short nod.

Yassen Gregorovich ran to join his team, and left his mother behind before the factory burnt.

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a scene in Briarwitched's Dysthymia, when Alex tells Yassen he heard his mother died 6 months after the accident in Estrov, and Yassen thinks that she may have survived for a time.


End file.
